To advance this field, a collaborative on bridging public health and health care was launched in 2015, and issued a call for individually-authored “population health case reports” describing cross-sector efforts to improve health.

The call requested submissions that

link the clinical delivery of medical care and population-based efforts to improve health, such as collaborations between health systems and state and local public health agencies;

go beyond initiatives that are confined to the medical system (such as a quality improvement initiative) or the public health system (such as a new public messaging campaign);

may include other sectors as well such as housing, education, transportation, job-training and public safety;

explain how the initiative was brought from conception to reality, including the relevance of new financial incentives and administrative structures if they exist;

review how data have been used to design, implement or evaluate the effort;

discuss the barriers that had to be overcome;

where possible, review implications for health equity; and

assess the impact of the program on the health of a clearly defined population.

The call invited health care, public health, and community organizations with qualifying collaborative projects to submit a paper. Submissions were due July 15, 2015, and authors were informed that papers that met the criteria and were selected would be posted on the Perspectives page of the National Academy of Medicine. The process was overseen by NAM member Josh Sharfstein, who is also a participant in the collaborative, and Alina Baciu, who directs the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement.

Follow along in the conversation using #PopHealthRT & use our infographics below to share on social media!

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the help of the following colleagues who reviewed the papers submitted: Phillip Alberti, Chisara Asomugha, Les Beitsch, Renee Canady, Brian Castrucci, Susan Cooper, Anne DeBiasi, LaMar Hasbrouck, Laura Herrera, Chris Holliday, Sarah Linde, Creagh Milford, Mary Pittman, Darshak Sanghavi, Nirav Shah, and Steven Smith. We also acknowledge the assistance of a steering group that helped make final decisions: John Auerbach, Renee Canady, Christopher Holliday, George Isham, Jose Montero, and Rahul Rajkumar.

The views expressed in this series of Perspectives are those of the authors and not necessarily of the authors’ organizations or of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). These Perspectives are intended to help inform and stimulate discussion. They have not been subjected to the review procedures of, nor are they reports of, the NAM or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Copyright by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.